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ULC News - Deputy Leadership Debate
A debate was held in United Left's conference room in Zarantin, Verzoonium between our 2 candidates for this Deputy Leadership Contest. Both of our candidates have agreed to come. The debate was hosted by Spokesperson, Barbara Nowacka. 500 Members of the party attended the debate. (Barbara Nowacka, Spokesperson of the ULC and Host): Welcome to the Deputy Leadership debate. We’ll have a series of questions that will be asked by selected members of the audience in the time that we have and, at the end, we will have a 2 minute summary from each of the candidates. (Bran Herman): I am a new member of the United Left. How will you treat the new members of the party? (Dolores Ibárruri): I am really pleased that people like Bran have joined the party. 3,000 people have joined the party in the last 5 years. I think it is important to remember why we all joined the United Left Coalition. I helped our dear leader, Alberto Garzón, create this party because we wanted to change the world. When you join United Left, you want to do that. You want to go to meetings that are interesting, you want to get out there and help make a difference, get involved in the community and argue for your political position. I think that some of our United Left Coalition meetings don’t always turn out to be that way. We don’t want our members to just doorknock or be in a photo. We need to transform our party so we can make our new members welcome and make them stay to make us stronger so we can defeat the right. (Soong Ching-ling): I have been with United Left since the very beginning. We joined the United Left Coalition to change the world, not talk about irrelevant rubbish. What I want to do to new members is help them understand more about the party and what they can do for us. We don’t ask our members what they do at work or in their communities. We don’t ask about their families or about their life. I think we should be doing exactly that. We make our policies based off experience, not based on a book. I think we need to reach out beyond our party and we need the new members and everyone else to do that. We must understand why our nation’s families and workers didn’t vote for United Left. (Natalia Thorsen): The last few months of arguing within the party has appalled me, and probably many others in this room. What will you do to improve relations between the many different views within the party? (Soong Ching-ling): Thank you for that, Natalia. We have a responsibility about how we behave as a party. There are many different views within our party, there always have been, but we all need to treat each other with respect, because the media and others will take advantage of our divisions and our indiscipline, so as Deputy Leader, my biggest job, or the job of whoever is elected in this contest, is to make sure we’re focused on staying together as a party and reaching out to the empire that who will hopefully elect us in the next election. It is about different policies. When I joined the party in 572, there wasn’t much of a talk about a minimum wage within the party and there certainly wasn’t much talk about our equality policies since then. Our party is about change and progress, but it’s in our hands to act responsibly because there are members out there who do not attend our party meetings who aren’t that close to politics. When they see us in division, attacking each other, they will turn away and we can’t afford to let that happen. (Dolores Ibárruri): Well, Natalia, I am very appalled at what has been happening as well. I think this arguing within our own party has to stop. My approach is that we have 3 and a half thousand members who have joined us. They have wisdom. They are being asked to make a decision on who should be Falleentium’s next Deputy Chancellor. They are in the process of considering it. Me and Ibárruri should respect their wisdom and respect the final results of this Deputy Leadership Election. This arguing between members must stop now! (Maria Hunter): Where do each of the candidates stand on the current electoral system? (Dolores Ibárruri): Well, if we introduced a new constituency system, where the country is split up into hundreds of constituencies and you need the plurality of the votes to win a seat in a constituency, I think it would be quite unfair. For example, UKIP could gain a majority of the seats when a minority of the people voted for them. I think we are a lucky nation to have the proportional representation system. (Soong Ching-ling): I disagree with Dolores on that issue. I believe that we must have a Constituency System. That way, the MPs would feel more like they belong somewhere and it will ensure that the MP who is living in an area is supported by the people in that area. (Rashmi Kedzierski): what will you do to turn the DLP and UKIP supporters to vote for United Left? (Dolores Ibárruri): I was mostly campaigning in Verzoonium during the previous Federal Election. Some people seemed like they were willing to vote for us and some slammed the door on my face. I think the problem is that we don’t have enough members. We have to persuade people, whether they be DLP supporters or UKIP supporters that we are on their side and we exist to improve people’s lives. We need to put ourselves out there more, we need to be honest, we need to be there when people are in difficulty. That’s what United Left was created for. (Soong Ching-ling): Well I have been campaigning across the North and I have learnt that there are a couple of things we need to do to gain the support of many of the people of Falleentium. One is don’t take your voters for granted. There is a history of communities that haven’t received any door knocking from major parties. We should be constantly building up a relationship with our voters, have open conversations with them, listening to their concerns and acting on them. It’s not rocket science. (Barbara Nowacka): I ask the candidates to do their summary of why they should be the Deputy Leader of United Left. (Dolores Ibárruri): Let me tell you why I am standing to be your Deputy Leader. I want to make a positive change to the world. I joined politics because I want workers to have a better chance at life and couldn’t just be written off because they were poor. Unless we reform and change our nation now, we risk letting down future generations. As Deputy Leader, I will change how we campaign so we’re better connected to our communities. I won’t be afraid to tell Alberto that he is getting it wrong but I won’t do it on a newspaper article. If you elect me, I promise you will always know where I stand. I’m proud to come from a working-class family. My upbringing shaped my beliefs and gave me my fighting spirit. I’m a proud Socialist and Trade Unionist and I will always fight for the voice of workers, for them to be heard louder within our party and in the empire, and I’m proud to help get many women in our parliament. I’m a straight talker, an honest broker, and I will hold our party together. I will be the member’s Deputy and I will always put you first. Thank you very much. (Soong Ching-ling): Let me tell you who I am and why I’m in United Left and why I’m standing to be Deputy Leader. I was born and grew up in Apari, my dad died at 18 from kidney disease. Yes, he was a rich businessman, but unlike most of my family, I am not a selfish greedy money grabber. I am compassionate towards the working class. I am a policy maker and I will fight for our corner. Our party isn’t a pressure group. We exist to win elections, to make the world a better place, and we need support from all classes, all backgrounds, all corners of Falleentium, and up until the end of this war, we are going to fight for the rights of workers on many fronts. We will only succeed if United Left provides real community leadership. The Deputy Leader needs to know our party inside out. I do, and I have the empathy to connect to our voters. The Deputy Leader needs to support and speak truth to the leader. With your support, I can be that Deputy Leader and help us win the next election. Opinion polls After the debate, those who attended the debate were asked who they support after the debate. Dolores Ibárruri: 52.7% Soong Ching-ling: 47.3% Category:ULC News - Deputy Leadership Election Results